Playa Film Shoot Turns Tiny Towns into Tinseltown
The tiny enclaves of Nazareth, Tulia and Happy, Texas, collectively transformed into "little Hollywood" as a film crew making a documentary on playa lakes recently descended on the rural towns. The PLJV along with Mass Productions based in Kansas City, Missouri, is creating a 30-minute documentary film about the playas and began production the week of June 20 in the Texas Panhandle.
Mother Nature had a starring role, unleashing heavy rains a few weeks prior to filming, setting the scene with a bounty of wet playas bursting with flora and fauna.
"Our timing couldn't have been better," said film producer and PLJV staff member Debbie Slobe. "You name the playa condition, and we found it and filmed it from the ground and from the air." A hot air balloon was used to capture the aerial footage of the playas; from the air the filmmakers could see dozens of wet playas in all directions.
On the ground, the crew captured playas blooming with pink smartweed and yellow plains coreopsis and overflowing with rainwater.
Playa experts Loren Smith, Dave Haukos and Jim Steiert shared their knowledge of the wetlands on camera, and groundwater mavens Ken Rainwater and Judy Reeves shed light on recharge and the Ogallala Aquifer. Also community leaders Darryl Birkenfeld and Remelle Farrar were interviewed about the importance of educating people about the values of playas.
The film is a collaborative PLJV project involving technical and financial support from several Joint Venture partners and cooperators including: ConocoPhillips, the Lannan Foundation, Larry DeSha/Scare Raven Productions, the Colorado Division of Wildlife and member state wildlife agencies which are providing additional footage. The film is scheduled to be completed by fall 2005.
Oklahoma Conserves 300-acre Playa Lake Site
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) recently completed conservation work on a 300-acre playa site in Texas County. The project includes a 94-acre playa basin and 206-acre native grass buffer. The project was implemented through the ODWC's Playa Lakes Initiative Program (PLIP) which offers 10-year agreements with landowners to conserve playa lakes. The program provides 50 percent cost share for habitat enhancement activities such as planting grass buffers and fencing, plus an annual rental payment. The Texas County playa had been in cropland and the landowner agreed to stop farming it and plant a native grass buffer around the wetland. Several partners are involved in the ODWC's PLIP program, including ConocoPhillips, PLJV, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
The tiny enclaves of Nazareth, Tulia and Happy, Texas, collectively transformed into "little Hollywood" as a film crew making a documentary on playa lakes recently descended on the rural towns. The PLJV along with Mass Productions based in Kansas City, Missouri, is creating a 30-minute documentary film about the playas and began production the week of June 20 in the Texas Panhandle.
Mother Nature had a starring role, unleashing heavy rains a few weeks prior to filming, setting the scene with a bounty of wet playas bursting with flora and fauna.
"Our timing couldn't have been better," said film producer and PLJV staff member Debbie Slobe. "You name the playa condition, and we found it and filmed it from the ground and from the air." A hot air balloon was used to capture the aerial footage of the playas; from the air the filmmakers could see dozens of wet playas in all directions.
Playa experts Loren Smith, Dave Haukos and Jim Steiert shared their knowledge of the wetlands on camera, and groundwater mavens Ken Rainwater and Judy Reeves shed light on recharge and the Ogallala Aquifer. Also community leaders Darryl Birkenfeld and Remelle Farrar were interviewed about the importance of educating people about the values of playas.
The film is a collaborative PLJV project involving technical and financial support from several Joint Venture partners and cooperators including: ConocoPhillips, the Lannan Foundation, Larry DeSha/Scare Raven Productions, the Colorado Division of Wildlife and member state wildlife agencies which are providing additional footage. The film is scheduled to be completed by fall 2005.
Oklahoma Conserves 300-acre Playa Lake Site
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) recently completed conservation work on a 300-acre playa site in Texas County. The project includes a 94-acre playa basin and 206-acre native grass buffer. The project was implemented through the ODWC's Playa Lakes Initiative Program (PLIP) which offers 10-year agreements with landowners to conserve playa lakes. The program provides 50 percent cost share for habitat enhancement activities such as planting grass buffers and fencing, plus an annual rental payment. The Texas County playa had been in cropland and the landowner agreed to stop farming it and plant a native grass buffer around the wetland. Several partners are involved in the ODWC's PLIP program, including ConocoPhillips, PLJV, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
Farm Service Agency Hosts National Forum on CRP
The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) hosted a national forum on the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) June 24 to gather recommendations from major conservation and agriculture interests on how to manage re-enrollment and extension of approximately 28 million acres enrolled in CRP contracts which are set to expire between 2007 and 2010. More than a 60 representatives from several organizations attended the forum, including the PLJV and partner organizations Ducks Unlimited and Pheasants Forever. PLJV board member Barth Crouch represented the Joint Venture at the forum.
The PLJV region has more than 10 million acres currently enrolled in the CRP, and about 75 percent of those contracts are due to expire by 2010. Crouch emphasized at the forum that re-enrollment of these acres, many of which include playa lakes, is critical to conserving the water supply of the region. The primary source of water for the PLJV region is the Ogallala Aquifer which has been steadily declining since the boom of irrigated agriculture in the 1950s. Since playas are the primary source of recharge for the Aquifer, the PLJV is recommending to the FSA that all CRP contracts with playas be automatically re-enrolled. Crouch also noted that if CRP contracts are not renewed, those acres may be converted back to irrigated agriculture, further increasing pressure on the Aquifer.
Workshop Expands Playa Education Region-wide
Environmental educators from four PLJV states gathered in Dodge City, Kansas, to attend the Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education's playa lakes facilitator training workshop June 8-9. During the workshop, participants shared their experiences in playa education and received instruction on how to conduct teacher training workshops on playas in their home states. A total of about 20 participants from Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado and New Mexico spent two days together in the classroom and on the field learning playa teaching techniques.
Participants also worked together in state teams to develop agendas and action plans for additional playa workshops across the PLJV region. A highlight of the two-day training was a field trip to Wild Turkey playa where educators became students, learning about the plants, invertebrates, soil characteristics and water quality of the playa. The training was organized by the KACEE and funded by a PLJV/ConocoPhillips grant in 2004.
Happenings Around the PLJV:
> July 4 - Aug. 26: Playa exhibit on display at John Martin State Reservoir in Hasty, CO.
> July 9: Playa Lakes Tour at German Festival in Nazareth, TX. Contact Darryl Birkenfeld of the Ogallala Commons.
> July 12 - 13: Playa Lakes Educator Workshop in Holly, CO. Contact Terri Hicks-Anderson of the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory or Linda Groat of the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
> July 13: Oklahoma Wildlife and Prairie Heritage Alliance and Great Plains Trail Meetings in Sayre, OK. Contact OWPHA Coordinator Trapper Heglin.
> July 19 - 21: Playa Lakes Festival in Canadian, TX. Contact Darryl Birkenfeld.
> July 20: Public input meeting on the Texas Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy in Lubbock. Contact Steve Bender of the Texas Wildlife and Parks Department.
Playa Post ©2003, 2004, 2005 Playa Lakes Joint Venture. Submission deadlines are the 15th of each month for publication the following month. Send press releases, comments and subscription inquiries to Debbie F. Slobe.